Saturday, January 19, 2008

In last month’s post on the troubled Texan peyoteros I referred to Anderson’s article on the peyote situation in Texas. Given the importance of this work, I saw it fit to bring it here in its full length - unfortunately I only have an old scan of the article, so the photos are a bit muddled but here goes...

More than a quarter of a million Native Americans use the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) (Fig. 1) as a sacrament in a Pan-Native American religion called the Native American Church. This bona fide religion includes Native Americans from throughout the United States and Canada. Almost all of the peyote consumed in their ceremonies comes from the "peyote gardens" on the Mustang Plains in south Texas, which has been carefully documented by Morgan (1976, 1983) and by Morgan and Stewart (1984). Federal and Texas laws permit the collecting and use of peyote by Native Americans in their religious ceremonies.

The origins of the Native American Church are complex, and the reader can refer to detailed accounts of how the modern peyote religion arose in the late nineteenth century through the influences of traditional Native American ceremonies and Christianity in both Mexico and the United States (Anderson, 1980; Stewart, 1989). This paper describes the long relationship of Hispanic "peyoteros" in south Texas and members of the Native American Church, as well as the impact of many years of collecting peyote tops or "buttons" within the Tamaulipan Thorn Shrub vegetation. Many report that the peyote populations are greatly diminished in size (Morgan and Stewart, 1984; Jerry Patchen, pers. comm.; Salvador Johnson, pers. comm.; Jackie Poole, pers. comm.). Is the continued collecting of the plant for religious purposes leading to a serious conservation problem? Will peyote continue to be available to Native Americans in the foreseeable future?

I recently had the opportunity to return to south Texas, where I had collected and studied peyote populations more than 30 years ago. I met Hispanic peyoteros, visited their drying sites, and talked with leaders of the Native American Church. I also examined a peyote site, where plants had reportedly been harvested about five years earlier.

Peyote has a broad distribution throughout most of northern Mexico and across the Rio Grande into Texas (Anderson, 1980). Though peyote occurs in west Texas near Big Bend National Park, the most extensive area within the U.S. is from the mouth of the Pecos River southward and eastward nearly to Brownsville. The main area in which peyote has been harvested commercially is within Starr, Jim Hogg, Webb, and Zapata counties, primarily along the western Bordas Escarpment, the Aguilares Plain, and the Breaks of the Rio Grande (Morgan and Stewart, 1984). Over 90% of this land is privately owned and well-fenced.

Hispanic peyoteros and some Native Americans have harvested peyote within this region for more than 100 years. Until the 1960's the main area for collecting the plant was in the more northern part, mostly in Webb County in the vicinity of Mirando City. In fact, the first peyoteros worked out of a small community just to the south of Mirando City called Los Ojuelos. Abandoned many years ago, the small town is now being rebuilt. Hispanic peyoteros and Native Americans developed a strong relationship, which has persisted to the present. The home of Amada Cardenas (Fig. 2), who is the oldest living peyotero, is located at the edge of Mirando City. It has become an important religious site for Native Americans who visit the area, with peyote meetings held in either a hogan or tipi. Amada, now 90 years old, was born in Los Ojuelos and became a peyotero in 1933. She is known to most Native Americans as "Mom"; often she provides Road Chiefs (church leaders) with especially fine specimens of peyote (Fig. 3) to serve as "Father Peyote" in the ceremonies they lead. Peyote growing in her garden is also highly revered (Fig. 4). She and the other peyoteros in the northern part of peyote country primarily sell dried peyote. More recently, peyoteros have operated in the more southern area around Rio Grande City; they deal mainly in fresh or "green" peyote, but dry some as well.

Fig. 3 - Especially large, fine peyote tops, which will be used as "Father Peyotes" in religious ceremonies of the Native American Church.

Fig. 4 - Peyote growing in the garden of Amada Cardenas. Note the coins and corn-husk cigarette butts that have been left as "offerings."

Peyoteros must be licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the federal government, paying annual fees of $5 and $400, respectively (Salvador Johnson pers. comm.; Jerry Patchen, pers. comm.). They must keep accurate records of how many pieces of peyote they harvest and sell each year. Responsible peyoteros lease the rights to collect peyote from the land owners, a typical lease costing $800-1000 for permission to work on a small ranch for 30 days (Salvador Johnson, pers. comm.). Leases for ranches of several thousand acres would cost far more. Unfortunately, a few peyoteros fail to secure permission to collect on private land, thus causing land owners to become angry because of their trespassing. Illegal trespassing was a particularly bad problem in the 1960's and 1970's when non-Native American "hippies" or members of the drug cult came to south Texas to search for peyote. They would often camp illegally and have extended drug parties on private property. Their illegal trespassing, coupled with their association with more serious drugs, caused many ranchers to close their lands to everyone, including peyoteros and members of the Native American Church. These "hippies" have not returned in recent years.

Fig. 5 - Salvador Johnson, who has been a peyotero for more than 30 years, with drying peyote "buttons."

There are currently 11 peyoteros working in south Texas. Each harvests and sells about 200,000 tops a year (Salvador Johnson, pers. comm.). However, productivity varies from individual to individual, as well as the season of the year. For example, no one collects during Texas's hunting season, for it is far too dangerous to wander through the brush harvesting plants, with hunters searching through the thick brush for the numerous white-tailed deer. One peyotero, Salvador Johnson of Mirando City (Fig. 5), has been in the business for more than 30 years. He works throughout the northern region of the cactus's distribution in south Texas, an area of 200,000 to 300,000 acres, and collects more than 300,000 buttons or tops a year. He claims that he and four other workers can collect about 30,000 heads on 25 acres of land in about 5 hours — if the plants are abundant. It takes 10 days to dry the buttons (Fig. 6), for which he charges 15-17 cents a piece. The size of the buttons makes no difference with regard to price, for both state and federal laws are concerned only in the number of pieces collected and sold. Thus, Salvador is able to charge $ 150-170 per 1000 dried buttons, plus $5.00 per 1000 for shipping. The price for dried peyote has steadily risen. In 1966 the cost was $15 per 1000 buttons, but it had risen to $80 per 1000 by 1981 (Morgan and Stewart, 1984). Thus, the price has doubled in the last 10 years.

Fig. 6 - Freshly harvested peyote tops that are being dried for sale to Native Americans.

Anthony Davis, also known as White Thunder (Fig. 7), is an 83-year-old Pawnee Road Chief and President of The Native American Church of the United States in Texas. Anthony, a longtime member of the Church, says (pers. comm.) that the annual demand by all branches of the Native American Church in the U.S. and Canada for peyote "buttons" is 5-10 million. Unfortunately, the peyoteros of south Texas come far short of reaching this need. If they were to harvest that many tops, what would be the longterm effects on the natural populations? In fact, what is the impact of their present collecting of about two million tops each year?

I visited a population of peyote on Las Islas Ranch in northern Starr County. The ranch is presently closed to outsiders, including peyoteros, with numerous high fences and locked gates. The area we visited had never been root-plowed and consisted of natural vegetation (Fig. 8), with heavy stands of mesquite and other native shrubs. No peyoteros have been on the property in more than three years. I examined numerous plants and found about half had been previously harvested. The usual technique for harvesting is to use a flat, short-handled shovel or machete, which is carefully pushed just beneath the soil to sever the top of the plant from the tuberous root system. If the top is removed at ground level, regeneration is rapid, usually with one - or more - heads arising from the original root system (Figs. 9, 10). New tops will sprout in less than two months if the plant is in a state of active growth. The Las Islas site had many peyote plants with one or more small heads, most less than 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter. Several large individuals were found growing under large mesquite trees. Peyote seems to be remarkably resilient if proper harvesting techniques are practiced by peyoteros.

Fig. 10 - Soil removed to show that the tops arise from a large root system from which a top had been removed several years earlier.

What is the future of peyote harvesting in south Texas? The long-term prognosis, if present conditions continue to exist, is grim. Interestingly, the most serious threat to peyote is not its harvest by peyoteros. They are actually good conservationists and have a responsible approach to their livelihood. They want to carefully nurture the wild populations so that they will have a steady income. Members of the Native American Church, in turn, are dependent upon the peyoteros, for there is no other legal supply of their sacrament. Some will travel to south Texas to collect their own plants, but most cannot afford the time or expense.

The two most serious threats to a continued supply of peyote are root-plowing (Fig. 11) and the locking up of ranches to the peyoteros. These two activities by the land owners are understandable, because they want to make their land economically productive, as well as to protect themselves from lawsuits. The brushland has many snakes and other dangers, and in this time of litigation many owners fear the possibility of lawsuits if anyone is injured or killed on their property. Hunting has become a significant source of income for many ranchers, with groups of hunters paying for permission to be on the land during the winter hunting season. The property has therefore been closed in order to propagate game, prevent poaching, and insure that only those who have paid are on the property. Elaborate, high fences have been built to restrict the movement of deer.

In recent years ever-larger numbers of Native Americans are coming to visit the "peyote gardens," which are almost totally on private land that is fenced and posted. Some Native Americans resent being prohibited from visiting sites where their most important "medicine" grows, thus creating serious tensions between them and the ranchers.

Root-plowing is the only means whereby a land owner can prepare land for cattle grazing, after which various grasses are planted. Of course, native plants are virtually all destroyed, with the
exception of Opuntia engelmannii (Fig. 11). It multiplies rapidly by vegetative means once the ground is disturbed and in many places it forms nearly impenetrable thickets.

As more and more land is subjected to rootplows or is locked up, there is an ever-increasing pressure on those remaining populations of peyote that are legally accessible. An area of peyote should not be recut for at least five years, but often peyoteros cannot wait that long if the demand for buttons is great. Thus, smaller and smaller tops are harvested (Fig. 12) at ever-higher prices.

Fig. 12 - Very small peyote "buttons," indicating that peyoteros are being forced to harvest regenerated tops before they have grown to a sufficient size. Photos by author.

There appear to be three ways to alleviate the probable shortage of peyote within the near future. None is easy, and none may be possible.

First, efforts should be made to persuade ranch owners to allow peyoteros to legally have the right to harvest peyote on their property through leases or permits. Landowners of Texas feel strongly that their lands are private. Negotiations would be difficult, but if some ranchers would allow carefully supervised harvesting, then perhaps others would follow. Unfortunately, the image of peyote as a drug rather than a sacred medicine is hard to dispel. This is an unfortunate consequence of the drug culture and their coming to Texas to collect and consume peyote.

Second, negotiations could be initiated with the Mexican and U.S. governments to allow the importation of dried peyote from Mexico where the supply is still plentiful. This would provide income for Mexican harvesters, with U.S. Hispanics serving as importers and distributors. However, at present Mexico has laws which are even more restrictive regarding possession and use of peyote than in the U.S. Perhaps the new NAFTA treaty and the greater interest of both governments to work cooperatively may at least provide the possibility of discussions about peyote.

Third, salvage operations could be undertaken with the cooperation of ranchers who are rootplowing fields. If they could be pursuaded to allow peyoteros to collect entire peyote plants prior to their destruction by the plow, then those collected could be placed into cultivation. Suitable fields with security would have to be found, but such an activity would provide income to the rancher, to the harvester, and to the grower. The plant grows well in cultivation, though few peyoteros and Native Americans have been inclined to propagate other than small back yard gardens of peyote, thinking that the wild populations will never be depleted. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Peyote is not a dangerous drug that victimizes Native Americans as alcohol has done. Rather, it is a sacred plant having a history of use of more than 6000 years. It is only used ceremonially and as medicine. It is not addicting, nor does it cause harmful effects. It is one of the most important medicines to Native Americans. Their religion, in which peyote is used as the sacrament, is highly moral and serious. For anyone who has experienced the night-long ceremony of singing, praying, and mediating, there can be only respect and admiration. Serious efforts must be made to assure the continued supply of peyote for members of the Native American Church.

Acknowledgments
Financial support for this investigation was provided by the CSSA Research Fund. It is much appreciated. In addition, I wish to thank Dr. Stacy Schaefer of The University of Texas-Pan American for arranging travel, accommodations, and interviews in south Texas. I also want to thank Jerry Patchen for several valuable suggestions in the writing of this paper.

19 comments:

I agree with you, peyote is not a dangerous drug but a sacred sacrament. I've written several articles on Native Americans and peyote in which I argue for this, demonstrating that peyote helps Native Americans in a number of ways and should not continue to be classified as a controlled substance. Thanks for the great article and photos. Hopefully we can do something about the situation.

I went in Amazon and in Andes mountain to do a study about shamans and medical plants uses by them, for an italian University. Peter say a very good thing, Lophophora and other plants uses by native american (San pedro, ayahuasca etc.)are not drugs, but real sacred plants, with an use that is very different between our concepts. Jack

Regarding the cover illustration, the CSSA description reads: "There's no doubt about it: Euphorbia piscidermis, from Ethiopia, is one of the most remarkable of succulents. When it is not in flower, no one would suspect it of being a euphorbia. Its globose stems are closely shingled with scale-like appendages (the specific name means "fish-skinned"), such scales being otherwise unknown in the genus. It is a difficult species to grow on its own roots and is usually grafted, a process that encourages such proliferousness as shown on our cover."

Interesting blog and commentary. I have been interested in Lophophora and Trichocereus pachanoi cacti for years. My blog is less focused, and tends to take me wherever I am at the time. Recently, however, I re-read 'A Woman of the People,' by Benjamin Capps, which only compares to the story of Mary Parker, a Comanche captive, and mother of Quanah Parker, in that they both are about white captives taken by Comanches. Still, it reminded me of Quanah Parker's influence upon the displaced Natives in regards to starting the Native American Church. Before I leave the topic for now, I wanted to comment on this, and came upon your blog. Can I put a link to your blog on my page? I look forward to reading more of what you write on the topic. Very thoughtful and informational. If you visit my blog, my comments about the book, myself and my interest in Native Americans are mostly in my sidebar, but I finally moved it to blog posts as I finished it off. The sidebar was getting too long! I plan to include more of my personal experiences of Native Americans, etc., read my interests in my profile, in the future, as I finish more books! My current interest is language and Native Americans.

Hi, this started out as an email, so it got really long. Sorry! Plus I may be repeating myself, but I went ahead and copied it anyway. So here goes.... I started, as you may know, just to recount a little of the book, A Woman of the People, by Benjamin Kapps. I only came to the topic of peyote in a round about way, i.e., the Kapps story, while not a story about Cynthia Parker, Quanah Parker's mother, had the characteristics of white captives of Comanches. Through further investigation in the similarities, I felt compelled to talk about the Parker lineage, and Quanah's accomplishments as a chief. Further, when I learned of the Native American Church, I, too, was intrigued. Considering the topic of your blog, I imagine you have insight into how he might have been compelled to spread the word about the benefits of peyote. I am also impressed how its use was transformed into living a life of right choices, especially in light of the difficulties they faced at that time, forced confinement to reservations, loss of tribal lands, stripping of cultural identity, practices, and way of life, and the lingering problems of alcoholism, abuse, and apathy in the face of these changes. Again, the peyote or psychedelic experience can cause one to reconsider life choices, change life patterns, and gain an appreciation of the connectedness of all, or to have what is known in more familiar religions as having a 'religious experience.' This last idea is one with which the Native Americans were already familiar, but the use of peyote can emphasize and confirm, shall we say, this idea or knowledge of connectedness.

Perhaps I have not told you anything you don't already know. In my limited research of the Native American Church, a familiar story was that Quanah Parker started the Native American Church, as described in my blog, but the records vary. It is said that he became wealthy in his dealings with the peyoteros, or probably in those times, harvesters of buttons without legal involvement. Due to the great demand for peyote on the reservation, and his authority and influence amongst most of the tribe (some considered him to have adopted too many white ways, and lost respect for him), he likely did have the channels and means to deal in peyote for his peoples of all tribes.

Your blog is interesting, and I was glad to have found it. I never did grow peyote, though I have seen it growing wild in the southwest. I did spend some time propogating Trichocereus, the San Pedro cactus, as well as experimenting with other plants that natives considered to have 'healing' qualities. Thus my interest in ethnobotony began and has continued throughout my life.

I like the way you have made your blog more pointed and focused, than, say, mine. I want to write more about Native Americans, but am not moving as quickly in that direction as I would have liked, thus my blog is a mish mash of whatever strikes me at the moment. I also have not done the necessary research of reading lots of other blogs in order to help gain readership of my own. I mostly do it for myself, as expression, as I gain more experience may proceed outward a little more.

Thanks for helping me find information for my post, and I will check back occasionally to see what you are up to.

I will go ahead and list your blog as a link, and I appreciate your permission.

Also, since my blog was started, Google has switched to the new Beta style, so my html is pretty messed up, and I have a hard time working with it. Thus, I may start my blog over, if I can't copy it. If I do I will let you know, so you know where your link is.

Molly, thanks for your very informative comment. When I get the time I have to read up on the history of the Native American Church - if you have more references to relevant literature on the subject I would be glad to know.

It seems you switched to the new widget based blog template without any problems :-)

Thanks for your remarks about my comment. I, too, would enjoy reading an authoritative account of the origins of the Native American Church. I got my information from different web sites, but the information varied. I would like to go back to it, but currently have a stack of books, probably like most people! My latest focus has been on truth in the Native American experience versus the white man's account of the Native's experience. I just finished 'Growing up Native American.' It is a compilation of excerpts from Native's experiences of youth in the 19th and 20th centuries. That in itself is a jumping off point for a number of good books. I'm reading 'Ancestral Voices: Conversations with N. Scott Momaday.' I have a few other books by him that I want to read because of the value he places on language. (another interest of mine).Perhaps most interesting are two books I recently picked up in a collectible book store written by Joaquin Miller. First I got 'Songs of the Sierras,' published in 1892. That appealed to me because I grew up in northern Nevada, on the eastern slope of the Sierras. When I was purchasing it, the owner showed me a second book written by him called 'Unwritten History: Life Amongst the Modocs.' It describes a five year span he spent living with the Natives, with a desire to describe his experience as it was, in contrast to the propoganda and misinformation of the time. He attempts to illuminate their nobility and dignity, and make known the injustices and cruelty they experienced. This book was published in 1874. As far as the blog goes, it has just become addictive. I enjoy the bit of creativity it allows me, and a small oportunity for expression, but I have been trying to spend less time on it so I have more time for reading, for example, and other creative endeavors in the tactile world. I never did switch to the new template. I have just been managing with it, and trying new things in the code until I get it right. Most recently, my son helped me add a feed, not originally in the old style. Oops sorry, another long comment. I'm not very good at blogging, because it is for the world that moves faster than I do. I am usually not one to express myself with few words, and even though I try really hard, I am always the one with the longest comment. (really long!)So if I manage to keep my promise to myself, I will be blogging less, reading and creating more. Then I may have more to blog about in the area of interest and direction I want my blog to take.If you find that great book on the Native American Church, let me know.

Greetings! I too have been enjoying your blog immensely. Thank you! It has provided a "diving off" point for my research on the sustainability of the peyote plant in south Texas.

I am formulating my Master's thesis around the intrinsic value of the peyote cactus as a biological species, because of the medicinal and spiritual value associated with it. I am writing a detailed history of the Native American Church and the story of peyote in the context of American history. I am a botanist. This is a very intriguing topic!

I am happy to share my thesis to anyone who is interested in reading it. It is a compilation of all the notable authors on the subject 1800's - present.

Kimberly, thanks for your kind words. It's good to know the blog is appreciated - it was originally started because I had a hard time finding serious information on Lophophora on the net, and wanted to collect the good bits in one place ;-)

It's equally good to hear that your Master's thesis is centered on the peyote cactus. The only state-of-the-art academic writings I know of are those of Martin Terry (his PhD dissertation A tale of two cacti: studies in Astrophytum asterias and Lophophora williamsii contains a wealth of interesting information - if you don't have copies of his other articles already, I'll be glad to share), so I had started to fear that most original research on peyote was being muffled by the restrictive US legislation on the subject. I'll appreciate a copy of your thesis - you can reach me by email at "lophophora [dot] blog [at] gmail [dot] com".

Molly, it seems like we are in luck as Kimberly's thesis might supply the information we are looking for ;-)

Hello again. Yes, I am familiar with Dr. Martin Terry. His work appears to be the only scientific data available on current peyote populations in south Texas. He is doing an excellent job of providing the data needed to understand the severity of the conservation crisis, from a biological perspective.

My thesis is more or less a discussion of the complex history of peyote, as a medicine and religious sacrament in the United States. I discuss how/why it came to be the sacrament for the NAC (this is not an easy thing to pin down) and the progression of the Church over the past 100 years. I also aim to unravel the complicated Federal and State regulations regarding peyote. Again, a difficult task as the matrix of Federal and State law, mixed with various case law, Amendments, and Native American rights are tangled. Finally, given this background, I aim to discuss the current status of peyote in the wild, and provide recommendations on the future conservation of the species as a religious, medicinal and biologically important species.

I will gladly share my thesis with you. It should be complete in about 2 weeks.

As far as 'muffled research' is concerned, I agree with you. There are 3 major Federal controls at odds with eachother over the peyote subject (the DEA, Endangered Species Act, First Amendment). The DEA trumps them all for some reason....

This is really exciting! I look forward to the opportunity to read your thesis as well, Kimberly. Keep us informed about when it is available and how we can access it. Ask and ye shall receive!Shortest post ever,Molly

it would be great if other aspects of native culture/religion would be honored and respected... the hollywood images still being produced are much to blame for incorrect ideas about native civilizations...think about where the cotton for your clothes came from... as well as beans, corn, squash, chilis, tomatoes, potatoes, chocolate, vanilla, rubber, and so many fruits and vegetables, grains and medicine plants to numerous to name... peyote being one of them.

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About Me

Information on the peyote cactus et cetera. The primary focus of the Lophophora Blog is small Mexican cactus species like Lophophora (peyote), Obregonia (artichoke cactus), Acharagma, Ariocarpus (living rock), and Strombocactus but occasionally other subjects will be dealt with as well. Welcome to the Lophoforum and happy growing :-)